May 31 at 9:54 PM
Summer is just around the corner in Soller
Published in the Majorca Daily Bulletin
Tuesday 2nd June 2015
Photographs by Rachel Fox
Three weeks are left to this academic year and the children are counting the days. As the exams come to an end schools try hard to keep the momentum going as everyone’s thoughts turn to summer. In Soller the summer schools are producing posters and move into a three month intensive work period. All the local schools offer a summer school with varied activities and lunch provided. The downside for some parents is that the venue is exactly the same as the children have whilst at school. The decision then is to look at what is on offer at the other schools or think outside the box and go onto the sports orientated summer schools. We have some great local facilities and the sports centre of Son Angelats host the combination summer schools of volley ball and swimming. The outdoor pool is combined with great tennis courts so they offer another two option course from half way up the mountain. The Botanical Gardens of Soller offer the favoured summer school for my family. They love their time in our mini Kew gardens dissecting flies and making models of dinosaurs and other unlikely figures. The days spent at the Balearic Science Museum which shares the space with the gardens is a throw back time of microscopes and biology.
The summer schools fill up with all the local children whose parents are working in the busiest time of the tourism year. Grandparents come into their own and provide the ‘home base’ for the children around the summer school hours. This is the busiest, most stressful time of the year for parents working and grandparents looking after the children in the searing heat. The whole community appreciates that this is a fact of life and essential to the local economy. Soller used to be the centre of the textile industry in Mallorca with over 20 factories in Soller and one in Bunyola. These factories were working 24 hours a day, year round, at one point and employed hundreds of local women. A system of child care was well established in this valley at that time while the rest of Majorca was living from the land. Soller does all this very well and the children accept that summer school is a fact of life. Holidaymakers with children can avail themselves of any empty spaces in the summer schools and many people do. They love the activities their children can join and the friends they make here. More information on the summer schools available here can be found on www.sollerweb.com.
On Saturday the noise from Soller could be heard for miles around as the Batucada and Xeremies drummers entertained us in the Market square. The City was rocking as the samba beat got under our skin and all agreed it was a fine time to be in Soller. No sooner had the drumsticks been put away when the posters arrived for the next three day musical event. Soller will be hosting a three day, international bagpipe convention from 26th to 28th June 2015. They will be playing in Soller, the Port of Soller and Deia and for those days the bagpipes will be king. We love our music in this place and have the most eclectic tastes – all I ask for is a little bit of country and western every now and again!
All the election advertising posters are down now and the City is looking tidy again. Behind the scenes discussions are going on well into the night to decide the form of Soller’s turn to the left. The chattering classes of Soller (of which there are many) all have an opinion but there is a view that says if you didn’t vote you have no right to a comment. This particular opinion got out of hand the other day with many saying that their lack of vote was in itself a protest and needs to taken account of. I got lost with that one it all seemed far too intellectual for me. Parents have had chats with teachers in Soller schools to get their view about how the changes will affect local education. The best that can be said is that it is all speculation at the moment except that Catalan in local schools isn’t going anywhere. The long summer holiday will give the politicians and educationalists time to begin the new term in September in a positive way. In the meantime, the hottest and most hardworking time for our community is just about upon us and that’s all we can think about right now.
